From the photographer: "On 2016 August 13, I went to Shikengkong to watch the Perseid meteor shower with my friends, where is the highest mountain peak in Guangdong, China. I was using a fisheye lens pointed to the north east in hope to capture the Perseids. There was a big thundercloud approaching from the east. We could see lightning inside the cloud. Suddenly we saw a flash, colored in blue and purple, ejected from the top of the thundercloud in a very fast speed. It looked like a tree with branches and grew up very fast. Also like a firework. It lasted a second. Several people saw it and screamed! I was so lucky to see and capture such a rare Upper-atmospheric lightning, a Gigantic Jet! So awesome!" More information on Astronomy Picture of the Day.
Phebe Pan